The posters were drawn straight into my diary then blown up and cleaned up.
This image was at the top of last Friday’s newsletter, titled “So what?”
I shared a batch of 7 questions I ask myself when I don’t know what to do next and y’all had so many great responses and questions of your own! Some of my favorites: “What advice would you give to a friend with this problem?” “Really?” “Who are you when no one is watching?” “What would this look like if it were easy?” “What if this was fun?” “So what?”
U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kansas, said he was convinced diversity hiring practices at the Federal Aviation Administration were a factor in the midair collision of a commercial jet from Wichita and a U.S. Army helicopter over the Potomac River near Washington, D.C. (Kansas Reflector screen capture from the U.S. Senate's YouTube channel)
TOPEKA — U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall of Kansas asserted President Joe Biden’s attempts to improve diversity among air traffic controllers by rejecting white male applicants factored in the catastrophic midair collision of a passenger jet from Wichita and a military helicopter.
Marshall, a Republican, said he was convinced the Biden administration’s emphasis on diversity, equity and inclusion policies within the Federal Aviation Administration lowered hiring standards, increased the frequency of near-miss incidents in U.S. airspace and set the stage for the Jan. 29 crash.
He connected those points to the fireball collision of a U.S. Army Black hawk helicopter and American Airline’s Flight 5342 about half a mile from Reagan Washington National Airport near Washington, D.C. The 64 people on the airline, including passengers from Kansas, and three aboard the helicopter died.
“I think diversity issues did contribute to the accident,” Marshall said during a news conference Monday in Topeka. “What I think you’re going to find is there were a lot of qualified white men that they were not hiring because they were holding spots for DEI hires.”
Meanwhile, Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly, Wichita Mayer Lily Wu, American Airlines CEO Robert Isom and U.S. Rep. Ron Estes, a Republican representing Wichita, issued a joint statement declaring their “unequivocally stand with the families and friends of the passengers of Flight 5342. Caring for and supporting those impacted is our top priority.”
The group vowed to be “unrelenting in our work at the local, state and federal levels to ensure U.S. aviation safety remains the best in the world.”
U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran, a Republican from Kansas, said the roster of victims hadn’t been made public, but there were Kansans among them.
“Many Kansans are personally impacted by this tragedy,” Moran said. “It was a sad day for Kansas and our nation, and I know this is a loss we will be grieving for a long time.”
Marshall, too, expressed concern for victims and their families or friends. He said at least three of the dead were from the El Dorado area where he grew up.
Marshall, who was employed as a physician prior to election to Congress in 2016, said working in an air traffic control tower was more difficult than being a medical doctor because of the multitude of tasks and responsibilities involved in directing aviators in and out of airports.
“It takes a very special person,” the senator said. “I don’t care if it’s a guy or a girl, what color your skin is, it needs to be a qualified person. They need to be able to do their job.”
Marshall echoed comments by President Donald Trump, who criticized DEI initiatives at the FAA. Trump pointed to an FAA report noting the agency had been intent on hiring more people with disabilities as air traffic controllers.
In addition to the DEI issue, Marshall questioned why the Reagan National air controller didn’t step in when the Army helicopter climbed to an altitude of 325 feet when that route required helicopters to hold to a ceiling of 200 feet. He said the controller should have been commanded the military helicopter pilot to reduce altitude and ordered the crew to more closely hug the shore of the Potomac River.
The National Transportation Safety Board launched an investigation of the collision of the Virginia-based helicopter and the passenger jet from Wichita’s Eisenhower National Airport.
Early indications were a single air traffic controller was handling both aircraft at Reagan National and the helicopter pilot was warned twice about presence of the passenger jet on final approach.
Marshall said there had been an unresolved shortage of air traffic controllers since he was first a candidate for U.S. House in 2016.
“There’s a huge problem with the air traffic control situation, a huge problem where the military helicopter was,” he said. “I’m not the person that thinks we have to form committees and pray about this for two years to realize that there was a problem here.”
By Celia Hack, Meg Britton-Mehlisch Officials said Thursday morning they don’t think there are any survivors following a collision between a passenger flight from Wichita and a helicopter near Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday night. Sixty-four people were aboard the American Eagle flight from Wichita, while three were in the military helicopter. […]
Google said today that it plans to update Google Maps to reflect President Trump’s January 20th executive order to change the names of the Gulf of Mexico and Denali to the Gulf of America and Mount McKinley, respectively.
The company noted on X the updated nomenclature will appear once the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) is updated.
“We have a longstanding practice of applying name changes when they have been updated in official government sources,” the company posted on X. It added that when “name changes vary between countries, Maps users see their official local name. Everyone in the rest of the world sees both names. That applies here too.”
Denali was named Mount McKinley until 2015.
The US Department of the Interior said last week it plans to follow the executive order to implement the name changes.
“The U.S. Board on Geographic Names, under the purview of the Department of the Interior, is working expeditiously to update the official federal nomenclature in the Geographic Names Information System to reflect these changes, effective immediately for federal use,” the Department of the Interior said on Friday.
An Apple spokesperson wasn’t immediately available to comment on its plans for Apple Maps.
It has been nearly two decades since Kar Woo, a sculptor and gallery owner, established Artists Helping the Homeless (AHH) in Kansas City, Missouri. And Woo recently returned to his roots by renovating the first home opened by the nonprofit.
AHH refreshed the Midtown home with about $60,000 in new paint, fixtures, appliances, and furniture. The project took the house out of service for nearly all of last year, but it welcomed eight new residents in December.
A native of Hong Kong, Woo gives inspirational names to all AHH homes. The Midtown home is known as Bodhi, which is associated with the Buddhist concept of awakening or enlightenment.
From inspiration to expansion
AHH now operates eight houses across the metro region and in Lawrence, Kansas, as well as an 18-unit apartment building in Kansas City, Missouri. The increase in the number of properties speaks to demand; AHH houses and apartments are almost always full and have waiting lists.
Bodhi is a first-stage house that serves individuals just released from incarceration and/or treatment. Residents advance to second-stage houses as they are ready for steps like working, advancing their education, and reconnecting with family.
“I want (clients) to really thrive, to build their life, turn their life around to become contributing members of the community, instead of depending on the community to move forward for the rest of their life,” Woo said. “So it’s never really the number, it’s the quality.”
But the numbers are there, too: AHH served more than 1,500 people in 2023, including clients who needed services other than housing. (Woo even soldiered on during the pandemic.)
Kar Woo was a gallery owner and sculptor when he founded Artists Helping the Homeless in February 2008. (Haines Eason | Flatland)
A view of AHH’s Bodhi house from the backyard. (Haines Eason | Flatland)
Kar Woo is given a tour of AHH’s recently renovated Bodhi house. (Haines Eason | Flatland)
Staff ready AHH’s Bodhi house for its new occupants. (Haines Eason | Flatland)
AHH Community Manager Dustin Moore (left) with program participant Charles Goeser at an AHH property in Lawrence, Kansas. (Haines Eason | Flatland)
Bodhi was a key building block in getting started.
“Without Bodhi, we could not really get the program to grow. It gave us a means to learn and really, really work with the people and then understand what is needed,” Woo said.
And, there has been a lot of learning – the road from Bodhi to eight houses and an apartment complex has been bumpy. Not every community has embraced AHH, and not every landlord has wanted to rent to program graduates.
Woo ran into landlord resistance early on when Bodhi residents were ready to move out into an apartment of their own.
“When … (graduates were) ready to move forward … then they couldn’t rent places because of their background or credit history or legal issues. Even though the legal issues are not that complicated or that serious.”
Woo tried to block rent units at apartment buildings and was turned down. That’s when he decided to purchase the apartment building.
Success in Lawrence
AHH recently marked five years working in partnership with Douglas County. The county allocates about $500,000 annually to support AHH’s two Lawrence homes, with a return on investment coming through decreased utilization of the county jail.
The county cross-referenced AHH data with jail reentry data for 2019 through 2021. For clients involved with AHH for more than 30 days, jail reentries, mental health intakes, and the total number of days spent in jail all decreased.
A report on the findings concluded that AHH’s work saved Douglas County a little more than $250,000 by averting 1,094 jail bed days. It costs the county about $230 to house an inmate for 24 hours, including utilities, food, staffing, and staff benefits.
Sheriff Jay Armbrister said the impact is likely greater when you consider the number of people AHH probably kept from interacting with the criminal justice system.
He said AHH succeeds because it provides services for free and hires program graduates to be house leaders, drivers, and other support team members.
“I think it’s perfect,” he said of AHH’s peer-led program.
Testimonial
Dustin Moore is a living example of AHH’s approach. He also knows how important it is for AHH to help with basic services.
“I’ve transitioned out of jail countless times and not once did I ever leave with my ID, my birth certificate, or my Social Security card,” said Moore, AHH’s community manager in Lawrence.
It can take hours to obtain an ID, and that’s if one has ready transportation and all the requisite documents.
Without the secondary documents needed to obtain an ID — a birth certificate and Social Security card, for instance — the process can take days or weeks. Or, for those recovering from addiction and navigating life after jail, several months.
If someone is lucky enough to find housing, that’s great, Moore said, but stressors of readjusting to life outside of jail and staying current on rent can lead to lapsing into bad habits. “There was a time I was more comfortable selling drugs and committing crimes to make money than I was paying rent.”
Help With Housing
Homelessness continues to be a problem both locally and nationally, with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development reporting that the 12% increase from 2022 to 2023 put homelessness rates at their highest point since 2007.
AHH is doing its part to address homelessness by helping 238 individuals for 20,512 nights in 2023. AHH housed 218 residents in 2022. The average stay is 56 nights.
The organization has also paid for 48 stays for 1,670 nights at the Salvation Army’s Harbor Light program in Kansas City, Kansas.
AHH’s progress has not come without hitches.
Most notably, some Johnson County residents have fought Woo in court over his plan to open an AHH home in their neighborhood. Woo said the case remains open even after city officials and the neighborhood association concluded that the home was allowed under the federal Fair Housing Act.
That legal battle in Shannon Valley comes amidst the county’s failed effort to establish a homeless shelter, which the Lenexa City Council voted down in September
Meanwhile, Douglas County Assistant Administrator Jill Jolicoeur said that, despite all its plusses, Lawrence can be a hard place for people with a checkered past to find housing.
Good Neighbors
But, at least when it comes to one AHH house in Lawrence, the community has gone from fearful to welcoming.
Melissa Stamer and her family live two doors down from an AHH house.
Though she and her neighbors were nervous when they learned that AHH would be locating a house in their neighborhood, they can’t imagine not having it now.
“You can just see, it’s like they have their own community within the community, and they’re trying to be part of the community, and they want to be part of the community.”
Stamer said her kids frequently talk to the AHH residents.
It’s even gotten to the point that she has told her children “go to (the AHH) house and tell them that you need help. Somebody there will help you.”
Haines Eason is the owner of startup media agency Freelance Kansas. He went into business for himself after a stint as a managing editor on the content marketing team at A Place for Mom. Among many other roles, he has worked as a communications professional at KU and as a journalist with work in places like The Guardian, Eater and KANSAS! Magazine. Learn about him and Freelance Kansas on LinkedIn and Facebook.
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